Badminton will be an attraction

Badminton is one of the sports that will be present at the 2022 Odesur Games, being one of the attractions to be held at the León Coundou Sports Center.

Ana Amarilla will be one of the participants that make up the Paraguayan team.

The athlete explained about her preparation: “From Monday to Friday I am training three hours a day, preparing myself physically and mentally for the games. As a badminton athlete, I am distinguished by my determination, my good smash hit and the cross drop”.

Amarilla, 14, who has been training since she was 7 (2015), has international experience since she competed in the 2022 Youth Games. She recalled her beginnings: “It was thanks to an exhibition held by the Paraguayan Badminton Federation at the Colegio Our Lady of Schoenstatt, where I study. Later she started badminton classes at the institution, where she attended and since then she has been delighted with this sport”.

The young athlete also pointed out what the continental event will be: “I think the new infrastructures are great, since it is of the utmost importance for athletes to have the best facilities to achieve high performance.”

“An important legacy that can mark a before and after in Paraguayan sports, will facilitate the training of competitive athletes and the achievement of great goals.”

Amarilla also had words of praise for her coach: “He is Professor Ariel Benítez, we work hard from Monday to Friday. He always takes care of all the details that we need to improve, he helps us a lot to grow and in games to take advantage of our opponents”.

About what preparation means, the athlete remarked: “It requires a lot of dedication, it leaves very little time to carry out other activities, we do not share with our families, friends the time we would like.” Reflecting on badminton, she said: “It is a very attractive and highly innovative sport, but mainly because it was enabled in my school, I started and today I am passionate about it.”

The competition will be in the Coundou, and Ana Amarilla wants to stand out.

More of the sport
Badminton is played with a racket in singles or pairs, where players stand on opposite halves of a rectangular court divided by a net.
Unlike other racket sports, badminton is not played with a ball, but with a projectile called a feather-based shuttlecock. The point ends when the shuttle touches the ground; can only be hit once before going over the net.